Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Synonyms

birr

1 American  
[bur] / bɜr /

noun

  1. force; energy; vigor.

  2. emphasis in statement, speech, etc.

  3. a whirring sound.

verb (used without object)

  1. to move with or make a whirring sound.

birr 2 American  
[beer] / bɪər /

noun

plural

birr

  1. a paper money, silver coin, and monetary unit of Ethiopia, equal to 100 cents: replaced the Ethiopian dollar in 1976.

birr 1 British  
/ bɜː /

verb

  1. to make or cause to make a whirring sound

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

noun

  1. a whirring sound

  2. force, as of wind

  3. vigour; energy

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
birr 2 British  
/ bɜː /

noun

  1. the standard monetary unit of Ethiopia, divided into 100 cents

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of birr

1275–1325; Middle English bire, bur, Old English byre strong wind; cognate with Icelandic byrr favorable wind; akin to bear 1

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

His bail was set at 60,000 Ethiopian birr, about $1,170, according to his lawyer.

From Seattle Times • Apr. 1, 2022

"Last year, for $1 you would get 35 birr, now you get 45."

From BBC • Aug. 29, 2021

She said she was not told why she was detained, paid 3,000 birr to a policeman and was released five days later.

From Reuters • Jul. 15, 2021

He added that citizens who receive remittances are “expected to convert their foreign currency into birr right away.”

From Slate • Dec. 23, 2019

O. N. y always becomes i, written i, y: big, birr, filly, flit, trig, wyndland, gylmyr.

From Scandinavian influence on Southern Lowland Scotch by Flom, George Tobias

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.